


Quiet Water |Ranboo-centric Oneshots| {No Ships}

by LazyFandomBean



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adopted Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Blood Loss, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, Comfort/Angst, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enderman-Ghast Hybrid Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Gore, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Lonely Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Mild Blood, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No Beta, Nonbinary Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Out of Character Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Protective Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Sad Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29474841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyFandomBean/pseuds/LazyFandomBean
Summary: I would say I'm doing this because there's not enough Ranboo fanfiction, but there's actually so much Ranboo content it made me want to write my own.No ships because I don't feel comfortable writing ships with real people.If any CC's mentioned are uncomfortable with this fic, I'll take it down.The title is from the Undertale soundtrack.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Dream SMP Ensemble & Ranboo, Eret & Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Floris | Fundy & Ranboo, Niki | Nihachu & Ranboo, Ranboo & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Wilbur Soot
Comments: 24
Kudos: 138





	1. Requests

This is the requests page! This is my first time posting on Ao3, so I don't really know if this will work, so I guess I'll just hope for the best! There's really no rules for requesting, other than no ships. So feel free to request whatever you'd like! I already have a few ideas, so your request might take a little while to write.

Edit: This was just in my drafts for a long time, so it's not really the first time I've posted.


	2. Hey Brother (Do You Still Believe In One Another?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and Ranboo are brothers.
> 
> Let's just say Dream isn't the best brother around.
> 
> Title from the song 'Hey Brother'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so tired, I started this at 12:00 A.M. and finished at 2:30 A.M.
> 
> Tw: Mentions of panicking, slight mentions of anxiety, Ranboo's tears hurting him, LOADS of manipulation, threatening to kill loved ones, not that innocent Ghostbur, and of course just general angst

"No no no no, you're not here, you're not- you're not back, you're- you're supposed to- to be stuck in- in the panic room," Ranboo rambled nervously, pacing around his room while tugging on his hair with his hands. He really hadn't expected the voice to suddenly appear again. Honestly, other than the stress of making sure Technoblade didn't find out about Tubbo and Michael in Snowchester, and planning with Tommy and Tubbo to kill Dream, everything had been pretty much fine. He certainly hadn't expected the voice to appear when he wasn't in the panic room (which he wasn't planning on going back to)- he would've thought that it would try to lure him out there with Mellohi or something. Instead, it had appeared while he was in the middle of making a cake.

The voice hummed. 'Well, normally, I would only appear in your panic room, but today's special,' it said with glee. Why was it happy? 'It's funny that you're making a cake, almost as if it's a day to celebrate.'

Ranboo furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "W-wait, what do you- what do you mean, today's special, what's... what's happening?" he asked with apprehension. The voice chuckled. 'You'll see soon, don't worry,' it replied. 'Just get ready, I'll see you soon.'

"W-what do you mean, how- how can you see me, you're just- you're just a v-voice in my head, or- or another part of myself, or- something," Ranboo said, panic and adrenaline flowing through him for an unknown reason.

The voice went quiet for a moment. Ranboo was starting to think (hope) that it was gone when it laughed. 'You-you actually believed that?' it wheezed. 'Wow, you're dumber than I thought. Oh well, it doesn't matter, I'm almost there anyway. See you in a minute!'

"W-wait, what are you talking about," Ranboo stuttered, even though he was starting to understand. The voice didn't respond, and Ranboo realized the voice was gone, leaving him alone with his swirling thoughts. He stumbled backwards against a wall, breathing heavily. 

"Nonononono, he's not... he's not out, he's- he's still in the prison, he's... it's j-just... just a voice, it's just a voice," he muttered to himself, despite knowing, deep down, that his mutterings were lies he was repeating to try to calm himself down.

A realization hit him, and he immediately shot up. "If he's coming here... then, I gotta- I gotta get armor, and- and-"

The sound of the front door opening and shutting made him freeze, ice cold panic running through him. It couldn't have been Phil, he would've knocked first, and it couldn't be Techno, he'd either knock or wait for Ranboo to leave before talking to him. Tubbo didn't even know where he lived, so he was out of the picture. 

Ranboo already knew who it was.

Ranboo was jolted out of his inner ramblings when he heard footsteps making their way up the steps. Panicking and not thinking clearly, he rushed towards the closet and his inside, cursing himself internally as he did so.

'Stupid, stupid, now you can't run, he already knows you're here, stupid, stupid-'

A voice cuts through his internal conflict, sweet as honey yet poisonous as a snake. "C'mon Ranboo, I know you're up here," it cooed. "You know you can't hide, right? Come on, don't you want to see your big brother?"

'Big brother?' Ranboo thought, but didn't have much time to dwell on it as the footsteps neared the closet. Ranboo held his breath as the footsteps stopped, and an eerie silence followed. 

After what felt like hours, the footsteps moved away, and Ranboo let out a barely audible sigh of relief.

'Spoke to soon,' the voice said happily, and the door to the closet swung open before he could react, and a white mask with a hastily drawn smiley face on it greeted him.

Ranboo's breath caught in his throat, and he scrambled and pushed himself further against the wall of the closet. An Enderman 'vwoop' of distress escaped him against his will, and Dream cocked his head to the side, then giggled.

"Found you, 'Boo," he said with glee. "Come on, let's go, we have a lot of work to do!" 

He grabbed Ranboo by the arm and started dragging him out of the closet, but didn't get very far before Ranboo yanked his arm out of his grip, breathing heavily.

"S-stay away from me," he growled, taking a full three steps backwards, away from the green-hooded man. 

Dream sighed and turned to face Ranboo. "Come on 'Boo, we have to-"

"Don't call me that," Ranboo interrupted with a hiss. "I'll... I'll call Sam and tell him you're out of the prison."

Dream giggled again. "Try it, he wouldn't believe you," he replied. "And it would look awfully suspicious, since you were the one who lied about not having seen me."

Ranboo glared at Dream, saying nothing as he knew he was right. Dream took a step towards him, and Ranboo found himself subconsciously taking another step backwards. 

"Come on Ran, don't you want to spend quality time with your brother?" he asked cheerfully.

"You're- you're not- I don't have a brother," Ranboo replied, tripping over his words. Dream sighed again. "Yes I am, you just don't remember," said Dream. "Come on 'Boo, try to remember a time before Dream SMP, before Hypixel."

Ranboo stiffened, staring at Dream in shock. "H-how do you- do you know about that?" he whispered. Dream chuckled. "How do you think? I'm your brother, remember?" 

Ranboo shook his head furiously. "No, no you're not, I would- I would remember if I- if I had a brother, and I d-didn't," he said, half to Dream and half to himself. 

Dream sighed once more. "I didn't want to do this, but if it's the only way to get you to remember..." he trailed off, pulling down his hood and reaching towards the back of his head.

As he does so, Ranboo can't help but notice the white skin marred with black spots on his now exposed neck. His gaze shifted to Dream's face just as the mask comes off. 

And just like that, he's hit with memories:

"Ran! Slow down, you'll get hurt!" Clay called after Ranboo. Thankfully, Ranboo had always had basic common sense, so he slowed his pace from a run to a walk as Clay made his way across the rocky terrain to his little brother. Clay sighed in relief as he made it to Ranboo, who stopped as Clay sat down on the ground.

"I don't know how you do it Ran," he said, trying to catch his breath. "I'll never be as fast as you."

Ranboo gasped in disbelief, sitting in front of his older brother with a determined look in his eyes. "That's not true, one day you'll be so fast, you'll just be a blur when you pass me by!" the seven year old proclaimed.

The eleven year old laughed. "I doubt that Ran, but thanks for believing in me," he said with a smile. Then he stood up and held out his hand to Ranboo. "Come on, let's go home before Mom gets worried," he said. Ranboo took his hand, and the two ender-hybrids walked back to their house.

-

Ranboo tried to stop crying with little success, the tears falling down his face making his skin sizzle. Clay rubbed them away, muttering, "It's alright, 'Boo," as shouting was heard in the background. Ranboo sniffed and buried his head into Clay's shoulder, who held him just a little tighter than before. 

-

"CLAY!!!" Ranboo screamed, lunging towards his brother. Hybrid traffickers held his arms behind his back as they dragged his brother away from him.

Clay smiled sadly and met Ranboo's eyes. They were the only two who had ever been able to do that to each other. "Don't forget me," was the last thing he said before being taken away.

Ranboo broke out in tears, tears that burned his face as they fell. 

Clay wasn't there to wipe them away.

-

Ranboo sighed after entering the Hypixel lobby. He was slowly making his way up the leaderboards, and he couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself.

(A part of him wondered if the brother he couldn't remember would be proud too. That part went ignored.)

Ranboo made his way back to his Hypixel room. Hypixel had apartments for people who didn't have any servers to go back to, and Ranboo was one of those people. 

When he reached his apartment, he pulled his key out of his suit pocket and inserted it in the keyhole. He unlocked the door, went inside, and made his way to his desk to check for server invites.

(He doubted he'd ever get any, but it was worth a shot.)

Before he got on his communicator though, he saw a piece of paper folded on his desk. Curious, and a little cautious because he definitely didn't put that there (which he could guarantee despite his awful memory), he picked up the piece of paper, unfolded it, and began to read.

'Dear Boo,

You probably don't remember me, that's okay. You don't need to just yet. We'll see each other again soon. Can't wait to see you again.

Oh, and congrats for making it on the leaderboards.

:)'

The letter confused him. Remember who? Who would see him again soon?

(The smiley face unnerved him. He brushed it off.)

-

The face Ranboo was seeing looked different than it had ten years ago. Of course, that was just because he'd gotten older (Ranboo had too) but there were also scars on his face that weren't there the last time Ranboo had seen it. The rest of his face, though, was exactly how Ranboo had remembered it (which admittedly, wasn't very well). Instead of being split black and white down the middle, like Ranboo, Dream's skin had a swirling white and black pattern with a little more white than black. Unlike Ranboo, his eyes weren't heterochromatic, but instead were both an emerald green that used to be soft and caring. They still did look soft, but it was a mask hiding a variety of emotions, and now, past the facade, they were cool and calculating.

(Ranboo couldn't look him in the eyes any more.)

"Clay...?" he whispered, not sure if this was real or some sort of sick dream. Dream's smile grew bigger. "You remember me now!" he said happily. Then he seemed to notice that if anything, Ranboo just looked more terrified, and he frowned. "What? Aren't you happy to see your brother again?" he asked, taking a step forward. Ranboo took a step back.

"You're... you're not the same," he said quietly, but also with a surprising amount of firmness. "I-I  
don't know if... if you're even my brother anymore."

Dream sighed in frustration. "I'm still your brother, I've just changed," he said, walking towards Ranboo. Ranboo backed up until he hit a wall and couldn't anymore. He averted his gaze from Dream's face, who was now less than a foot away from him. 

Dream cupped the side of Ranboo's face gently, turning his head to face him. Ranboo had to stop himself from melting into the comforting touch. "'Boo, I've changed for the better, can't you see? Now I can protect us better, we'll never have to be separated again, we can both be in control of everything!"

Ranboo had found himself becoming entranced with his brother's words, until the word 'control' cleared some of the fog from his mind. "N-no, I don't- I don't want control," he whispered, still not looking into Dream's eyes. "I-I just want to be alone, I just want to be left alone, please, I just-" 

Dream put a finger to Ranboo's lips, cutting off his rambling. Dream made a 'tsk tsk' noise before speaking. "I really didn't want to have to do this, but you've given me no choice," he said with a bitter tone. "'Boo, look at me in the eyes."

Despite the nickname making him want to do as his brother said, he bit his lip and kept his eyes focused on just behind Dream. He couldn't look at those eyes again, he couldn't, he-

"Ranboo," Dream's voice cut through his thoughts, his voice changing from sweet and tempting to cold and commanding. "Look me in the eyes."

His sudden change of tone of voice startled Ranboo into doing as his brother said, but once he did so, he found himself completely unable to move, and his head started hurting from the uncomfortable eye contact. Dream didn't seem disturbed as he stared down his younger brother.

Dream hummed. "You have a son, right? And a husband, Tubbo." Dream's hand on his face suddenly felt more threatening than comforting. "You know, it'd be a shame if something happened to them because you refused to go with me."

Ranboo couldn't speak, or move, or really do anything that might make Dream leave his family out of this. A tear slipped out of his eye, and Dream carefully swiped it away before it could do much more than slightly sting Ranboo's face. Ranboo managed a whimper, and Dream blinked, and he suddenly had control of his body again.  
He tried to wrench his face out of Dream's grasp, but Dream held it firmly. 

"Please, please don't hurt them Dream, please, I'm sorry, please leave them out of this, I'm sorry, please-"

A quiet laugh from Dream stopped them midway through their desperate pleading. "Oh 'Boo, I won't do anything if you just come with me, alright?" he said sweetly. Ranboo nodded as much as he could with Dream still holding his face, desperate to keep his family safe. 

Dream smiled, then pulled him into a hug. Ranboo couldn't stop himself from melting into it this time, letting his body go limp despite his instincts screaming at him to get away from his brother. Dream held him up fairly easily, rubbing circles into his back and whispering "Good boy, 'Boo, good boy," repeatedly. It was making Ranboo feel tired.

A knock on the door interrupted their moment of tranquility. They both froze, and then suddenly Dream pulled away and put his mask back on. Ranboo bit his tongue to keep from whimpering at the sudden loss of contact. 

"Ranboo? You there?" Techno blades voice called out. Dream grabbed his arm, noticeably rougher than before. "Listen, we're going to tell Techno that I got out of prison and we recently discovered we were brothers" ironic how most of that was true "and that we're spending quality time together. If not, Tubbo and Michael die, you understand?" Fear shot through Ranboo, and he nodded vehemently. Ranboo didn't need to see Dream's face to know he was smiling. "Good. Now go open the door for Techno, we'll explain, and then he'll leave." Ranboo nodded again and hurried downstairs, making sure to smile before opening the door.

\---

Technoblade knew something was up the minute Ranboo opened the door. For one, the voices had been screaming at him for a good fifteen minutes, saying "SAVE THE ENDER CHILD" and "TECHNOPROTRCT" and "HELP RANBOO" and "SADBOO" and a couple of "KILL DREAM"s and "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD"s. They refused to leave him alone until he left to go check on Ranboo. Two, Ranboo's hair was messy and his crown was tilted. He would have blamed it on Ranboo just waking up if it hadn't been for the fact that Ranboo was wearing his suit. Three, while Ranboo was pretty good at faking a smile, there were hidden emotions on his face Techno couldn't quite make out.

"Hey, Techno, what's up?" Ranboo asked casually. Techno could tell something was up, despite their casual look and tone, but decided to play along and shrugged.

"Nothin' much really, Phil's out right now and I was bored," he said blandly. "What about you?"

"Me? Oh I'm doing fine," Ranboo replied a little too quickly. He glanced towards the stairs for a split second before Turing back towards Techno. "Uh, actually, I uh, have something to tell you."

"Oh?" Techno asked, taking the bait. The voices started chanting, "ENDER BOY HIDING SOMETHING!" "E" "TJE HOMELESS TELETUBBY!" "E" "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD" "E" "STOP SPAMMING E" "E" "IS ENDER BOY UPSET???" "E" " DREAM KILL DREAM" "E"

Techno was starting to wonder why the voices were talking about Dream all of a sudden when a familiar green-hooded figure appeared at the top of the steps. "Hello Technoblade," Dream greeted him.

Techno was extremely surprised, but didn't show as much on his face. "Hallo," he greeted. Then he glanced at Ranboo. "Ranboo, why is this homeless man in your house?" he 'whispered'. Dream stiffened. "I have a house, Technoblade," he said with a sour tone. Ranboo gave a short laugh, but nothing more. 

"Right, right, the prison," Techno said. "But actually, speaking of that, how did you get out of the prison?"

Dream stiffened ever so slightly before replying just a tiny bit to quickly, "Well, I mean, I escaped, the. I came here cause, y'know, Ranboo's my brother."

"Really?" Techno said, an eyebrow raised. He turned to Ranboo. "He's your brother?" he asked, slight disbelief slipping into his tone.

"Uh, yeah," Ranboo muttered, averting his gaze. "Just found out a little while ago, actually."

"Yup!" exclaimed Dream, who had lived to Ranboo's side. He threw an arm around Ranboo's shoulder, Ranboo freezing for a split second at the contact. "We're actually spending quality time together right now, so maybe you could come back later?"

Techno glanced between Ranboo and Dream, wondering if it was true. After all, Ranboo did say that Dream's voice in his head was bothering him.

Then again, it could have just been some sort of misunderstanding. Techno glanced at Ranboo one more time before nodding. "Well, guess I'll go back to tradin' with villagers," he said, turning away. "See ya later Ranboo, and I guess maybe Dream.

"Bye Techno!" Ranboo said, closing the door. As Techno was walking away from the house, Chat was yelling at him to go back, kill Dream, help Ranboo, etc. Techno winced at the noise. "Chat, it'll be fine, they're brothers, and if something happens, I'll be right here," he reassured them. Chat huffed but mostly settled down, giving Techno a moment to breathe.

\---

Ranboo breathed heavily after the door was shut, each breath he took shaky. Dream gently grabbed his shoulders and guided him to the couch silently. Ranboo desperately wanted to pull away, but something in him told him to just go with his big brother, to just accept it. 

Once they were sitting on the couch, Dream pulled Ranboo's head onto his lap, whispering "Good boy 'Boo, you did so good," and "You're so good at this 'Boo, you did so well" into his ear as he slid his fingers through Ranboo's hair, sometime scratching behind his ears. A part of Ranboo knew that there was something wrong with this situation, but his mind was too clouded to know what. He had a gut feeling, though, that he needed to stay awake, be alert. He wasn't very alert at the moment, but he tried his hardest to stay awake.

Dream had taken off his mask again at some point, and he started singing an Enderman lullaby. Ranboo knew he needed to stay awake, but he was so tired, and Dream's voice was so soothing, and the fingers brushing through his hair felt nicer than anything he could remember feeling before.

Just five minutes wouldn't hurt, right?

\---

Dream smiled as Ranboo's eyes started to become more cloudy. He could tell that Ranboo was trying to stay awake, but thanks the the Enderman lullaby, Ranboo wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer. The lullaby was something similar to the one the Ender Dragon used to keep the End under Her control, although obviously different because he was an Enderman hybrid and couldn't perfectly replicate the song.

It seemed to be good enough though, as Ranboo's breathing started to get heavier and his eyes were getting even more clouded. It wouldn't be long now, only a couple more minutes.

Dream was almost surprised it'd been so easy to get Ranboo completely under his control, although he didn't know what he'd expected of his weak little brother. He loveably weak little brother. Dream didn't hate him, not at all, even when he was in this weaker state. Something about him just made it so easy for people to like him.

Which was why it hurt more when he betrayed them.

Not that he ever did it consciously, of course. Despite what he might say, Ranboo had never even betrayed Dream while conscious, it was so easy to get him to do what he wanted by threatening Jose he cares about.

Ranboo's loyalty to people and people alone was something Dream admired about him. All he really needed to do was grow a backbone and realize that things can only be peaceful when you're in control.

Dream glanced down at his brother to see that he was sound asleep by this point, his breathing even and heavy. Dream smiled wider. Soon, Ranboo's more Ender state would take control, and everything would be right again. Him in control and his brother by his side no matter what.

\---

Ghostbur couldn't help but watch the scene through the window with disgust. He'd seen the entire thing, and knew enough about Tommy's exile to tell that Ranboo was being manipulated.

Ghostbur wasn't as dumb as everyone thought. Yes, he could usually only remember happy things, and maybe he was a bit naive and trusting, but that doesn't mean he was stupid. He knew how to sneak around and into places without getting caught, and he knew how to lie, and how to tell if someone was a bad person. Dream was a horrible person, he decided, the worst one he knew. And he knew Ranboo didn't deserve any of it, and that only made him more angry with Dream. It almost made him want to kill him for now hurting three once-innocent teenagers.

But for now, he's have to tell his idiotic 'twin' about what he saw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so tired. 
> 
> I wanted to say stuff here but I forgot so I'll put it here later.
> 
> This was so long.
> 
> Just realized I made so many typos holy cow 
> 
> Imma fix them tomorrow, I'm too tired right now.


	3. I'm Sorry (I Wish That I Could Say I'm Proud)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream takes things a step too far and takes people Ranboo cares about. 
> 
> He's understandably upset. 
> 
> Title from the song 'Let You Down'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta write this quick, I'm not allowed to stay on my computer forever. 
> 
> Tw: Blood, panic attack, anxiety, injuries, slight manipulation

Ranboo’s hands were shaking as he gripped the note tightly. He’d just gone to Techno’s house to ask if he could use the enchantment table, only to find that no one was in the house. He’d spent a good ten minutes searching the basement, upstairs, all around the house, but it really seemed like no one was there. 

There was also the fact that the house seemed like more of a mess than it usually did. Ranboo wouldn’t have been suspicious of anything if it weren’t for the fact that he knew Techno liked to stay organized. 

He’d found the note laying on the kitchen table, folded horribly, like whoever had written it had been in a rush. Confused, he’d picked up the note, recognizing Techno’s handwriting immediately. 

‘Hey Ranboo, if you find this note, you’re probably confused. Sorry about the mess, I’m in a rush. Listen, I don’t know how, but Dream escaped and took Phil and left a note, something about revenge for me not being there when he was caught, something about the favor I owe him. I’ve left to go get Phil, we’re going to have a duel and if I win, we get Phil back, if he wins, well, he hasn’t said exactly what he wants yet, guess I’ll find out if he wins. Don’t look for us, try to stay safe, you said you hear his voice sometimes, right? If so, then it’s probably safer for you to stay at your house, or somewhere he won’t know were you are. I’ll try to be back soon with Phil, stay safe.

Technoblade’

Ranboo was buzzing with anxiety and anger. Dream took Phil, was going to duel Techno, and was probably going to cheat to do… whatever he wanted to do. Ranboo didn’t know, he didn’t care. All he knew was that Dream had taken one of his friends and was probably going to kill another. Maybe even both. 

(The Enderman side of him screamed ‘haunting’, not friends. He pushed those Enderman instincts down for the time being, he had other things to worry about.)

It had been a little while since someone had made him angry. The last time was after the Festival, right before Doomsday, and even then, he’d really only been actually mad because of all of the eyes on him. But it wasn’t like he’d been angry enough to give into his Enderman instincts and kill all of them. 

This time, though, this time was different. Dream had taken his friends (haunting) away from him, and he most likely planned on hurting them. To Ranboo’s half-Enderman brain, this was a direct attack on him and his haunting. An adrenaline he hadn’t felt since Hypixel flowed through him, and he folded the note and put it in his pocket. He pulled out his armor, sword, and a crossbow, then went to look through Techno’s chests for invisibility potions, strength potions, and speed potions. A part of him felt bad that he was using Techno’s things, but he shoved that feeling aside. 

For now, he had to protect his family. 

-

Ranboo hadn’t been thinking too clearly when he had gotten prepared to help his friends (haunting). He hadn’t realized till he left that he had no idea where Dream would be. It turned out not to be too much of a problem though, as Ranboo let his Enderman instincts take over just a little bit to try and find the scent of his piglin friend. He picked it up quite easily (it was very distinguishable against the cold loneliness of the snow) and followed it, chugging a few speed potions as he ran. If it didn’t feel like Hypixel before, it definitely felt like it down, drinking potions, throwing them, the buzzing nervous energy in his bones. He even started feeling the anticipation as Techno’s scent grew stronger. 

He eventually moved out of the snow biome and into a taiga biome, Techno’s scent growing stronger with each passing second. He even started to smell Phil scent too, and he slowed down his run to a walk, pulling out an invisibility potion and drinking it before walking carefully, ears twitched up and alert for any and every sound. 

(Just like Hypixel.)

Ranboo suddenly heard the clashing of blades in the distance, and he almost froze before carefully stalking towards the sound. As he drew nearer to it, he took off all of his armor and placed it carefully in his hotbar, keeping his sword in the first slot. He eventually reached the place the sound was coming from and saw Techno and Dream fighting each other, Dream gaining the upper hand. Ranboo could see magic effects glinting off Dream’s body, and he gritted his teeth. He had the audacity to drink a strength potion, while Techno only had his sword and tactics. Neither of them were wearing armor, possibly because it would weigh them down. Ranboo glanced to the side and saw Phil tied to a tree, with his wings tied behind him. Any nervousness Ranboo had left was gone now, replaced by rage flowing through his veins. 

He was so lost in thought, he almost missed Dream knocking Techno to the ground. Ranboo froze, wondering if he should do anything yet, or if Techno would have it handled, although it wasn’t looking good for the piglin hybrid. Techno was breathing heavily and harshly, and he was also cradling his left arm, keeping it above the ground and close to him. Dream held his sword to Techno’s throat, and Techno sighed. 

“Well, you’ve won, does this mean I get to know what you want now?” he asked bitterly. Dream chuckled, his laugh full of venom. “Well first, I want you dead,” Techno froze, “but I’m fairly certain I would be doomed if I tried to take all three of your canon lives, so I’ll settle for one. Oh, and you can also have Phil back,” he added, gesturing towards Phil with his empty hand. 

Techno narrowed his eyes. “That can’t be all you want, you wouldn’t have kidnapped Phil and dragged us all that way out here just to take only one of my lives,” he said with suspicion. Dream hummed. 

“Smart, although I don’t know why I expected less,” he said with a shrug. “You’re right, I’d never settle just for one of your lives. There’s something else I want, something I’ve seen close to you before.”

Techno raised an eyebrow. “That sounds a little ominous Dream, get to the point. What do you want?” he asked, his voice laced with caution. Dream hummed again. “It’s simple. I want Ranboo.”

Ranboo felt his blood run cold, and Techno visibly stiffened. “I’m sorry,  _ what _ ?” he asked, blinking. 

Dream nodded. “I know he’s pretty close to you, he’d trust you if you told him to follow you somewhere. After I kill you, I want you to go talk to Ranboo, get him to follow you here, and  _ then  _ I’ll give you Phil.”

“Absolutely not,” Techno spat at Dream. Dream sighed. “Techno, I’m literally about to kill you, and I have Phil right here,” he said, gesturing towards the man again, who stared at the scene with his jaw locked and his eyes blazing with fury. Ranboo understood how he felt. “If you don’t do it come back here  _ with  _ Ranboo in an hour, I’ll kill Phil and leave his body on the ground for you to collect. Understand?”

Techno went quiet for a moment, then gave a small sigh. “Fine, but we’re getting him back the moment Phil’s safe,” he said, his tone promising death and bloodshed. Dream scoffed, obviously not picking up on it. “As if you’d be able to,” he said with a smirk in his voice. He started to push his sword deeper into Techno’s neck. “Well, see you in an hour!” he said happily. 

A loud Enderman screech was heard, and suddenly Dream was being attacked by an invisible and lighting quick opponent. He was barely able to hold up his sword in time to protect himself from the seemingly never ending blows his invisible attacker was sending him. He managed to shove whoever it was away before glancing around, looking for potion particle effects quickly. 

He spotted some to his left and immediately turned and went on the defense as the attacker sent blow after blow after blow. Now that he knew where his opponent was, he was able to defend better and even sent a few blows. After a minute of this cycle, the attacker’s invisibility potion wore off, revealing Ranboo.

Obviously Dream wasn’t the only one surprised by this development. Techno was watching from the ground, wide-eyed, and even Phil was staring at them with his mouth open. Ranboo payed no attention to them as he continued to attack Dream, managing to sneak a few potions into his mouth as he did so. 

Eventually, Dream managed to get a solid hit on Ranboo, slicing his sword across his face. Ranboo stumbled backwards but held up his stance, barely even registering the cut that stretch from the top of his green eye to his jawline. Purple blood flowed from the wound, which Ranboo only noticed because of the blood getting in his eye. As he stood there, sword raised and waiting, he barely saw the taiga, or Techno, or Phil, or even Dream. Instead, he was back in Hypixel, waiting for his opponent to either strike him or shove him off of the sky islands and into the never ending abyss below. He wasn’t Ranboo, the memory boy or spineless traitor, now he was Ranboo, Hypixel fighter, good enough to get on the leaderboards. His eyes were slightly glazed over as he stared at Dream, who was surprised that Ranboo actually had a backbone.

With no warning, Ranboo lunged at Dream, swinging his sword in a calculated aim towards his arm. Dream barely had time to block it as Ranboo aimed for his other arm, then his chest, then his neck, and back to his arm. Ranboo kept attacking, swinging his sword methodically and each swing perfectly calculated. After a few more minutes, though, he started getting tired, and he was one second too late. Dream held his sword to Ranboo’s throat, Ranboo’s sword just inches away from Dream’s arm. Both of them were breathing heavily, blood from a few of Dream’s injuries soaking his green hoodie while the blood from Ranboo’s face dripped down onto the sword shoved against his throat. After a long minute, Dream relaxed his shoulders ever so slightly and laughed, albeit weakly. 

“Gonna be honest, had no idea you could actually fight to save your life, Ranboo,” he said with his voice laced with slight surprise but also self-satisfaction. “Where’d you learn to fight like that?”

“Hypixel,” Ranboo said simply, as if it wasn’t even a matter as important as the weather. Dream was clearly surprised for a moment, because he didn’t say anything and his posture stiffened ever so slightly. Then he laughed with more energy than before. 

“Hypixel, huh?” he said. “Then you must have hurt a lot of people Ranboo, guess you didn’t change since then.”

Ranboo’s face hardened, but he said with an even voice, “This isn’t about me or my past right now. This is about the fact that you tried to hurt my haunting.” The words slipped before his mind could register them. 

Dream seemed surprised for a second, then laughed harshly. “Wow Ranboo, you feel like you’re so close with them you’d call them your  _ haunting _ ?” he wheezed. “No wonder Techno wanted to give you up so easily, you’re so clingy.”

Ranboo froze. Despite hearing that conversation himself and knowing that Dream was a manipulative person, his words still struck doubt and fear into his heart. Techno didn’t  _ want  _ to give up Ranboo, did he? Yeah, yeah, he said it himself that they’d get him back, but he still agreed, he would have given up Ranboo to save Phil, which made sense, Phil and Techno were practically family, while Ranboo was just some awkward Enderman hybrid who had memory issues, he wasn’t important to them, he was nobody-

“That’s enough, Dream,” a voice said, cutting through Ranboo’s thoughts and bringing him back to reality. Dream froze, and Ranboo looked around him to see Phil holding a sword to Dream’s back. Techno must have untied him during the fight. And boy, did Phil look  _ mad _ . 

“Put down the sword, and  _ maybe  _ I’ll let you keep your last life,” Phil said evenly, his tone of voice completely contradicting the barely concealed fury and rage in his eyes. 

For a total of five seconds, nobody moved or said a word. Then suddenly, without any warning, Dream grabbed Ranboo, spun him so that Ranboo was pushed against Dream’s chest, and pushed his sword up against his throat hard enough to just barely start drawing blood. Ranboo let out a small Enderman warble before Dream pushed the sword against his throat harder, an unspoken command to stay quiet. Ranboo gulped, following the unspoken order in fear of his life. Phil leveled Dream with a glare while Techno stood behind him, face emotionless but speaking thousands of words. Ranboo could feel Dream’s heart beating rapidly, and Dream took slow deliberate breaths. 

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” he said in between shaky breaths. “I’m going to take Ranboo, and you two are going to leave, or Ranboo dies. Deal?”

“Hell no,” Phil spat. “I’d rather die than let Ranboo go with you.” 

Techno immediately swiveled his head in Phil’s direction, but neither Dream nor Ranboo were focused on that. The sword against Ranboo’s throat pushed harder, causing Ranboo and Phil to freeze in place. 

“Well it’s either he goes with me, or he dies,” Dream said coldly. “What will it be, ‘Angel of Death’?”

Phil glanced between Dream and Ranboo with worry evident on his face, and then he sighed, sheathing his sword. “Ranboo, listen mate, it’ll be okay, we’ll come find you, we’ll find you soon, alright?” he said, trying to subtly let Ranboo know his answer. 

Panic and fear seeped into Ranboo’s bones, and his breaths started getting quicker. They were going to leave him, they were leaving him behind, they were leaving, they were **l e a v i n g** -

Phil noticed Ranboo’s panic and tried to calm him down. “Mate, it’s alright, we’re going to find you, you’ll be okay, we won’t let him hurt you, it’s alright, just breathe,” he urged. Ranboo let out a whimper, and a sizzling tear fell down his face. Dream hissed at him to be quiet, then pulled an Ender pearl out of his inventory. 

Ranboo could feel the Enderen magic radiating from the pearl, and suddenly his tears stilled, and his breathing became even. He hardly even realized what he was doing as a phrase slipped out of his mouth: “Bꖎフフ↸ ⎓フ። ﬧׅ〒ŀ bꖎフフ↸ p።╎リᓵŀ.”

Dream pushed the sword to his throat again, but Ranboo was hardly phased. Instead, he repeated the phrase, “Bꖎフフ↸ ⎓フ። ﬧׅ〒ŀ bꖎフフ↸ p።╎リᓵŀ.”

Before Dream could do anything else, a ‘vwoop’ was heard, and then there was an Enderman in front of them. “Bꖎフフ↸ ⎓フ። ﬧׅ〒ŀ bꖎフフ↸ p።╎リᓵŀ,” it echoed Ranboo. 

Multiple ‘vwoop’s were heard, and suddenly there were a dozen Endermen surrounding them. They didn’t attack anyone, or teleport, or even move. Instead, their gazes were all fixed on Ranboo, who said a warbled sentence in his native language. “T〒ŀ bꖎフフ↸ gフ↸ ᔑリ↸ ﬧׅ〒ŀ aリㅓŀꖎ ᔑ።ŀ ⎓╎リŀ. T〒ŀ mᔑነꖌ 〒⚍።ﬧׅነ.”

The first Enderman that appeared nodded, and suddenly an Enderman teleported behind Dream and Ranboo and grabbed Dream, who let out a startled yelp as the Enderman teleported away, Dream in his grasp. A few other Endermen followed, and the rest began to disband, half of them still chanting, “Bꖎフフ↸ ⎓フ። ﬧׅ〒ŀ bꖎフフ↸ p።╎リᓵŀ.” Eventually, all but the first Enderman who had appeared left. The first Enderman teleported near Ranboo and put his hand in hair. “Iﬧׅ'ነ フ⍊ŀ።._ bꖎフフ↸ p።╎リᓵŀ. Rŀነﬧׅ.” Then it teleported away as well. 

Phil and Techno stared at Ranboo, unable to comprehend the situation. When Ranboo started to sway on his feet, though, Phil rushed forward to catch him. Ranboo slumped into Phil’s arms, the energy being slowly drained out of his body. Phil was starting to wonder if he’d fallen asleep when Ranboo said groggily, “P-Phil?”

“Yeah, it’s me, mate,” Phil replied, relieved. “You feeling alright?” 

Ranboo nodded and slowly backed away from Phil. “Yeah, my head just hurts a little bit,” he said, grimacing. Then he looked at Phil with a confused look on his face. “Phil, what… what happened?” he asked. “I mean, I remember finding you guys, and fighting Dream, and then he had that sword to my throat-” Ranboo swallowed before continuing, “and you almost killed him, and then he almost killed me, but I don’t remember anything else.” Then he gasped, a panicked look on his face. “Wait, where is he, he didn’t get away, right? Did he hurt you? Are you okay?”

“We’re fine kid,” Techno interrupted. “Phil’s almost completely unscathed, and I’ve just got a broken arm, nothing too bad.”

Ranboo looked shocked. “Are you okay? You should get that- um, fixed, and oh boy, that looks painful-”

“Kid, I’m  _ fine _ ,” Techno insisted. “Besides, worry about your face. That’s a pretty big cut Dream gave you.”

Ranboo reached up and gingerly touched the cut on his face, wincing as his fingers made contact with it. “I mean, it’s not really that bad, just stings,” Ranboo said, wiping the blood on his fingers on his armor. He searched his inventory, freezing and then groaning. “I grabbed so many things, and not once did I think about health potions or regeneration,” he complained. Then he looked up. “Wait, you still didn’t tell me what happened.”

“Oh, right, well basically, you said this fuckin’ weird phrase in Ender or something, and then about a dozen Endermen came and just repeated what you said,” Phil replied. “You said something else, and an Enderman nodded at your for some reason.” Then he grinned. “Then an Enderman grabbed Dream and a bunch of others followed. One of them managed to get you back to your normal state. It was honestly pretty cool.”

“Phil, I told you, he’s the main character,” Techno said with a dejected sigh. “He had an army of Endermen just doing whatever he said, and he almost took down Dream.” Then he cocked his head to the side. “Actually, how did you learn how to fight so well? I thought you were more of a pacifist, and Phil and I weren’t really listening to your explanation, we were a little preoccupied.”

Ranboo looked to the side, hanging his head in shame. “Uh, well, are either of you, um, familiar with Hypixel?” he murmured. 

They both nodded. “Techno was even at the top of the leaderboards once,” Phil said, his tone laced with pride. “Why do you ask?”

Ranboo shuffled his feet, hesitant to answer. Techno narrowed his eyes. “Wait, you didn’t fight in Hypixel, did you?” he asked in disbelief. 

Ranboo stiffened. “I mean, well, I had to- to survive somehow,” he muttered. Phil noticed how anxious the Ender hybrid seemed, and shot Techno a glare. Techno shrugged, his way of saying, ‘Not my fault.’ Phil rolled his eyes and stepped towards Ranboo, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Mate, we’re not upset you fought in Hypixel,” he said. “Actually, you fight pretty well, in my opinion. Also, we’ve both been in Hypixel before, it’s nothing we’re not used to, and it’s nothing we’ll judge you for.” Techno nodded in agreement. 

Ranboo sighed and shook his head. “No, yeah, I know- I know that,” he breathed. “It’s just, uh, people don’t usually have good reactions if I tell them that.” 

Phil frowned. “Well, those people don’t matter any more, you’ve got us,” he reassured the hybrid. Then he stretched his wings a little bit. “Now let’s go home. My wings are sore, you two are probably sore, and you’re both injured.” Ranboo and Techno nodded in agreement. 

As the group of three walked back to their home in the arctic, Phil remembered something, and smiled wide at Ranboo. “So Ranboo, what was that earlier about us being your haunting?” he teased. Ranboo flushed red and purple and ducked his head, making Phil laugh. Techno raised an eyebrow. “Heh? What’s a haunting?” he asked. 

Phil grinned, and Ranboo swiveled his head to face him, a pleading look on his face. “Please, please don’t tell him,” he said in embarrassment. Phil gave an evil smirk. “Okay first, Techno you need to do more research on Endermen, you literally lived with one,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Second, a haunting is basically a flock of Endermen. Usually the haunting is either their family or the closest thing they have to one.” 

Techno raised his eyebrows, and Ranboo groaned, burying his face in his hands. “Why did you tell him, that’s so embarrassing,” he complained. Phil laughed and gave a half-hearted apology, which Ranboo reluctantly accepted. Techno thought of Phil’s words a few times over in his head before they reached their houses in the tundra. 

  
And if Techno was just a  _ tiny  _ bit more protective of Ranboo than he used to be, well, no one said anything, and it was nobody’s business but their own. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeee
> 
> I didn't post in the middle of the night for once. 
> 
> Sorry if any of the characters are ooc.


	4. I Need You Right Now (It's In My Head)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The voice says some triggering things, leading Ranboo into another Enderwalk.
> 
> Only this time it involves Michael.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> |I wrote this in the middle of the night again :D 
> 
> Now I have to work on another oneshot :) 
> 
> Tw: Panicking, panic attacks, slight blood, passing out, being knocked out, injury, a little manipulation (it has Dream in it that's literally the only reason), Ranboo's tears hurting him, near death moment. 
> 
> Title from the song 'Don't Let Me Down'. |

"No, shut up, you're lying, stop..." Ranboo whispered, curled up into a ball on the obsidian floor of his panic room. The Dream voice sighed impatiently. "I'm not lying, why would I be lying? If anything, this is for your own good," it replied.

"No, no, that's not- that's not true, you're lying, I didn't try to help Dream break out of prison," Ranboo whimpered, pulling on his hair. 

"Yes you did! I know because I'm you!" the voice yelled at him, unlike the other times where it would sound smug. Regardless, Ranboo scoffed. "You've said that a million- a million times now, I think you need to- need to find something new," he said with a small laugh that wasn't really a laugh.

The voice was quiet for a moment. Ranboo was starting to hope it was gone when it spoke again. "You know, you could've hurt Tubbo, or Michael," it said.

Ranboo froze. No. Nononono, there was no way. There was no way he'd hurt them. He would never do that, never, he'd never-

"How can you be sure?" the voice interrupted. He hadn't realized he'd been speaking out loud. "You wouldn't remember if you did, anyway. What if you killed one of them? Or both of them? And if you haven't yet, then what if you do next time?"

Ranboo's breath quickened, and he pushed himself up against the wall, starting to draw blood from his scalp as he pulled on his hair harder, his fingernails scratching through the surface of his head. "No...no no no, I wouldn't- I couldn't have- I'd never- no no no, I'd never do that!" he cried, his voice raising in volume until he was borderline shouting.

The voice giggled. "But you did, you know it," it laughed. "You've already hurt them, it's a wonder they still keep you around. Maybe they're just using you, who knows. But you've already hurt them, I wouldn't be surprised if you killed them the next time you Enderwalk."

"No, you're wrong- I haven't- no-" he sobbed, actually pulling out a little bit of his hair by now. He started making Enderman noises involuntarily, but couldn't stop himself. His vision started to fade, and he started panicking, already knowing what was happening. He fought to keep himself awake, but the darkness kept creeping into his vision, and soon, the whole world went black.

-

Dream smiled from inside the prison, but he didn't see his obsidian cell. Instead, he saw through the eyes of an Ender-hybrid, amnesiac teenager. This was harder than before, when he could just tell Ranboo's Enderwalk state what to do, but this would do until he broke out of prison. He had to say, he didn't expect the voice-in-the-head trick to work, but surprise surprise, he managed it. Then again, he could bring people back from the dead, it was a simple matter to telepathically send Ranboo messages and communicate with him. Unfortunately, it only seemed to work when Ranboo was in an obsidian room, but thanks to his little panic room, he could manage this.

"So is it working or not?" an impatient voice said from beside him. Dream rolled his eyes, even though he knew his new cell mate couldn't see it. "Of course it hasn't, that's why I'm staring at nothing," Dream retorted sarcastically.

Wilbur held his hands up. "Hey, I can't really see where you're looking with that stupid mask," he defended himself. 

"Touché," Dream responded. "But yeah, it's working."

"Well I gathered that," Wilbur grumbled. "So when's he coming over and helping us get out?"

"Actually, I was thinking we could have a little fun first," he said with a smirk. "Don't worry, it won't take long," he added when he saw the expression on Wilbur's face. "Just thought I'd kill two birds with one stone."

"I won't ask, as long as it doesn't involve Tommy," Wilbur said, a wicked smile appearing on his face at the mention of his brother-like figure. "I still need him around."

"Don't worry, if anything this will help with that," he laughed. He started to guide the poor teen's body he was in to Snowchester.

-

Michael sat in bed reading, even though it was his bedtime and he wasn't supposed to be awake. He wasn't actually reading, just looking at the pictures, but it still counted. He gigged as he flipped the page and a fox killing a rabbit appeared on it. He was pretty sure that his dads hadn't meant to get him this book, but he wasn't going to just let them take it. He liked this book.

His ears twitched when he heard the front door open and shut. He could tell which dad it was by his footsteps- they were heavier and sounded more assured about where they were going. If it was Bee, they'd be lighter but with a seemingly never ending energy in them. That meant Boo was home. He sat up in bed, happy that he'd get to see Boo again. He didn't visit very often anymore- always murmured something about a 'sindicit' whenever he had to leave Michael. He waited to see if his father was coming upstairs, almost squealing with delight when he heard Boo climbing the ladder. He beamed when the trapdoor opened, but stopped and tilted his head quizzically when he realized both of Boo's eyes were green, not the normal green and red they usually were. Boo didn't move once he got upstairs, just staring at Michael weirdly.

Concerned, Michael crawled out of bed and toddled over to his dad, pulling on his pant leg. "Da'?" he asked, hoping Boo was okay. Boo, looked down at him, and then slowly reached down and picked him up. Michael giggled when his dad picked him up- like he said before, his dad usually didn't have a lot of time for him. He became confused, though, when his dad put a hand around his throat, and his eye widened as his dad started tightening his hand. Michael shrieked and started kicking away from his dad, who just held on tighter and was slowly choking the air out of him. Eventually, he managed to get a kick at his dad's face, who dropped him at the impact. Michael winced at the fall, but quickly got up and scrambled under the bed, hoping Boo wouldn't find him.

-

Tubbo was in the basement, just tending to the potatoes, when he heard the front door open and shut. He smiled, know that Ranboo had likely come for a visit, but then stopped and looked at his clock. A visit at two in the morning? That only ever happened when he was upset, but something about this situation seemed fishy to him, and he wasn't sure why. Nevertheless, he grabbed his sword, axe, and shield, putting them in his hotbar. Then he started climbing up the ladder and onto the first floor. 

Right when he did so, he suddenly heard Michael shrieking, and he materialized his sword, then hurriedly scrambled up the ladder and into Michael's room.

When he got up there, there was no sign of Michael. Tubbo feared the worst until he saw his piglin son pulling his hoof under the bed. Then he turned toward his left, and his blood ran cold. 

Ranboo stared back at him, but with two green eyes instead of green and red like they usually were. He'd heard about Ranboo being weird and acting like an Enderman before, but this seemed different.

Without warning, Ranboo leaped at Tubbo, his sword in his hand. His left hand, which wasn't his dominant one. Tubbo was barely able to raise his sword in time, narrowly blocking the intended blow. Ranboo growled and swung again, and again, and again. Tubbo had already seen this fighting style, but from where? However, that was a good thing for Tubbo, as he was able to tell where Ranboo would be striking. 

Suddenly, Ranboo (Tubbo was sure that this was not Ranboo) kicked him in the chest, sending him to the floor. Tubbo barely managed to put his sword up in time, struggling while 'Ranboo' pressed his sword against Tubbo's. 

"Ranboo," Tubbo choked out. "Big man, it's me, Tubbo, I know you're in there, please come back," he added desperately as Ranboo continued to press his sword against Tubbo's. For a moment, Ranboo paused, and for a moment, his eyes flickered back to normal. "Tubbo?" he whispered, and for a moment, he was back to normal.

A moment was all Tubbo needed, and before he gave himself time to think about it, he slammed the base of his sword hard against Ranboo's temple. Ranboo froze, then crumpled to the floor.

Tubbo dropped his sword, drawing in a deep, shaky breath. He had no idea what just happened- did Ranboo just try to kill him and Michael!? What the hell!? 

Now that they weren't fighting, Tubbo could see Ranboo clearer. His fingernails were all scraped up, and his head had small chunks of hair missing, and some places of his scalp were bleeding. Tubbo didn't realize he was crying until Michael teetered over to him and wiped the tears off of his face. "Da', no sad," he whined softly. Tubbo smiled and hugged Michael. "Thanks buddy, I feel better already," he said. Then an idea popped into his head. "Hey, hi would you like to stay with Foolish for a little while? You can see Foolish Jr. again!"

Michael gasped and clapped his little hands together. "Fooish! Fwnd! Pway!" he giggled excitedly.

"Alright, let me just see if he's free right now," Tubbo replied, pulling out his communicator. Foolish was the only one Tubbo and Ranboo trusted with Michael, since Foolish had a child of his own and knew to be careful around children.

You whisper to FoolishG: hey, do yiu think u could watcj michael? Smomthing happned, and I need someone to watch him.

FoolishG whispers to you: Of course, Foolish Jr. will be happy to see him again! But uh, why are we whispering?

You whisper to FoolishG: it's prvat, I dmot wan t anyone elses to knoww 

FoolishG whispers to you: Alright, be outside your house in ten!

Tubbo sighed in relief. This was going to make the next part easier (although a part of him wondered why Foolish was up at two in the morning, but that wasn't important right now). He turned towards Michael. "Michael, get dressed, Foolish is coming over to babysit!" he said in a false cheery tone. Michael squealed and rushed to get ready. Tubbo sighed and hesitantly clicked on a name.

You whisper to Technoblade: tehcnco 

You whisper to Technoblade: technon I need ur hlep 

  
Technoblade whispers to you: Tubbo?

Technoblade whispers to you: what do you need it's two in the morning. And from me of all people.

You whisper to Technoblade: its abtuo ranboo 

Technoblade whispers to you: What.

Technoblade whispers to you: if you hurt him.

You whisper to Technoblade: I didndtd 

You whisper to Technoblade: its wried, I need ur hlep with him

You whisper to Technoblade: brning phil, he cna hlep. 

Technoblade whispers to you: how do I know this isn't some sort of scheme?

You whisper to Technoblade: pls

You whisper to Technoblade: I'm worried.

Technoblade whispers to you: ...

Technoblade whispers to you: I'll be there in twenty minutes.

Tubbo sighed in relief. Now all he had to do was wait for Foolish to pick up Michael, and then wait for Technoblade to get there. He really didn't want Technoblade here, but if the thing that happened with Ranboo happened again, Technoblade would be the only one able to stop Ranboo. And Phil might be able to help if something went wrong. 

For now though, he realized that he had to move Ranboo to the couch. He groaned internally before sighing. He'd better get started.

-

The first thing Ranboo registered was darkness, and the fact that it wasn't completely black. The second thing was that his head hurt. A lot. Even worse than the headaches that usually came with Enderwalking. The third thing was voices speaking to each other.

"-be alright?"

"He does this sometimes, it'll be fine."

"Mate, he's never tried to kill anyone before. This definitely not fine."

"..."

"You're worried about him, aren't you?"

"Fine, maybe I am. But what can we do?"

"I mean, we can talk to him, try to figure out what's going on..."

"He doesn't like to talk about this stuff mate, it'll be hard to get out of him."

Ranboo opened his eyes reluctantly, searching the room for the voices he'd heard. He looked to his right to see Tubbo, Phil, and Techno all talking to each other in hushed, worried tones.

'Huh,' he thought. 'Never thought I'd see them getting along together.'

A sudden streak of pain shot through his head, making him groan. Tubbo's head swiveled to face him. He looked relieved at the sight of Ranboo being awake. Phil and Techno looked relieved as well. Ranboo would have made a joke about Techno caring about him if his head didn't hurt so much. 

"Hey, how're ya feeling?" Phil asked gently. Ranboo groaned. "M'head really hurts," he replied, voice strained.

Tubbo winced. "Yeah, sorry about that, I had to hit your head pretty hard," he said with a guilty look on his face.

"Wait, you hit my head? Why did you..." Ranboo trailed off, panic and realization starting to settle in. "I... I was Enderwalking, wasn't I?"

Tubbo nodded, looking away from him. "You were, and you tried to do some... stuff," he explained. "I had knock you out, hence your head."

Ranboo felt his head, noticing a bandage was wrapped around it. His breath started to quicken, and he suddenly realized something and started looking around frantically. "Where's... where is he, is he okay!? Tubbo, where's... y'know," he asked his husband, looking at him with wide and frantic eyes. Tubbo opened his mouth to reply, but Ranboo was already panicking, hands subconsciously going to his head and pulling on his hair again, his breathing getting quicker. "Nonononono, I hurt him didn't I, nonononono, did I... did I kill him?" His voice got higher pitched near the end, tears starting to fall down his face, burning his skin. He didn't feel it though, he was too worried about Michael. 

Then he sat up, quivering but determined. "I-I have to find him, I have to- oh gosh, is he okay, I didn't- I wouldn't- oh gosh-" he stammered as he stood up suddenly, his head pounding at the sudden movement. He ignored it and tried to step forward, but Technoblade grabbed his arms from behind and tried to drag him back to the couch. Ranboo thrashed in his arms, trying to kick his way out of Techno's grip. "Please, please, I have to find him, let me go, let me go let me go, I have to find him!" he screamed, sobbing by this point, the pain unbearable but hardly existent at the same time.

"Big man, Ranboo, it's okay, Michael is safe!" Tubbo cried, rushing forward and hugging his husband, "I had Foolish watch him, it's okay, he's safe, alright?" 

His husband's words calmed him down, and he stopped thrashing around, only whimpering and letting out quiet sobs. Phil quickly took out a regeneration potion and began rubbing over Ranboo's face, soothing the pain of the burns and allowing the tears to fall harm-free.

"Who the heck is Michael?" Techno suddenly asked. Tubbo froze for a spot second before sighing. "That's not important right now, we have other issues," he replied. Then he turned to Ranboo. "'Boo, can you please explain what's going on? Whatever it is, we can help!"

"He's right, y'know," Techno interjected, making Ranboo glance at him in surprise. "We may not know exactly what's goin' on, but we'll try our best to help, alright?"

Ranboo shook his head furiously. "I- I can't, you'll hate me," he whispered, shrinking in on himself. 

"Mate, I promise, nothing you could do would make us hate you," Phil said sympathetically. "Hell, you could blow up a country and we wouldn't hate you." Phil gave a humorless laugh at his joke, but Ranboo noticed the way Tubbo stiffened for a split second.

Ranboo took a deep, shaky breath. "Y-you promise?" he asked quietly. The other three nodded in unison. "Pinky promise, 'Boo," Tubbo added.

And suddenly, he was telling them everything, about his Enderwalk, blowing up the community house, having a disc, Dream's voice, all of it. By the time he was finished, he was sobbing along with Tubbo, with Phil also crying by the end. Even Techno shed a few tears as Ranboo admitted everything's he's done and felt ever since the Dream voice appeared. Ranboo's story ended with the four of them in a pile on the couch, hugging each other (including Techno). As Ranboo sat and cried pain-free, he could only think one thing: these people were home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Michael calls Ranboo and Tubbo Boo and Beenin his head so he doesn't get confused. 
> 
> Also sorry Techno seemed a little ooc.
> 
> And sorry about any typos I might have made.


End file.
